AML 2410, Section 8974: Issues in American Literature and Culture “There’s No Place Like Home”: Domestic Narratives Tuesday, Period 7 (1:55-2:45 PM) and Thursday, Period 7 & 8 (1:55-3:50 PM) Meeting Location: WEIM (Weimer Hall), Room 1092 Instructor: Andrea Krafft Office: Turlington 4325 Fall 2013 Office Hours: Tuesday, Period 8 (3:00-3:50) and by appointment Email:akrafft@ufl.edu Class Website:http://domesticity2410.wikispaces.com (invitation only) Course Description and Outcomes
Well-known sayings such as “there’s no place like home” and “home sweet home” indicate a longstanding American investment in domesticity and family life. While many writers celebrate an idyllic image of the happy home, they just as frequently envision domestic space as a location that is under threat. This course will examine representations of domesticity in American literature published over the past 200 years. We will consider how literary works imagine the home and the family not only as sites of unity, but also as sources of instability and destruction. Central questions we will explore include: How does an author’s gender influence his or her view of domesticity? How do works about family life reflect historical shifts and regional values? How is the home often imagined as a metaphor for America as a whole? To answer these questions, we will read a wide selection of texts in a variety of genres, ranging from short stories to graphic novels.
“There’s No Place Like Home”: Domestic Narratives
Tuesday, Period 7 (1:55-2:45 PM) and Thursday, Period 7 & 8 (1:55-3:50 PM)
Meeting Location: WEIM (Weimer Hall), Room 1092
Instructor: Andrea Krafft
Office: Turlington 4325
Fall 2013 Office Hours: Tuesday, Period 8 (3:00-3:50) and by appointment
Email: akrafft@ufl.edu
Class Website: http://domesticity2410.wikispaces.com (invitation only)
Course Description and Outcomes
Well-known sayings such as “there’s no place like home” and “home sweet home” indicate a longstanding American investment in domesticity and family life. While many writers celebrate an idyllic image of the happy home, they just as frequently envision domestic space as a location that is under threat. This course will examine representations of domesticity in American literature published over the past 200 years. We will consider how literary works imagine the home and the family not only as sites of unity, but also as sources of instability and destruction. Central questions we will explore include: How does an author’s gender influence his or her view of domesticity? How do works about family life reflect historical shifts and regional values? How is the home often imagined as a metaphor for America as a whole? To answer these questions, we will read a wide selection of texts in a variety of genres, ranging from short stories to graphic novels.
This is a General Education course providing student learning outcomes listed in the Undergraduate Catalog. For more information, see http://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/adivising/info/general-educationrequirement.aspx#learning.